


Highway to Hell

by cozybucky



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, Established Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, F/F, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, but like you dont have to have watched supernatural to get it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:05:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9488348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozybucky/pseuds/cozybucky
Summary: After meeting girlfriend-hunters Angie Martinelli and Peggy Carter, Steve and Bucky are thrown into a world of monsters, demons, ghosts and witches.





	1. Chapter 1

Steve and Bucky were seated on opposite ends of their sagging couch. Steve had one leg tucked between Bucky's legs and the back of the couch, and the other bent at the knee holding up his sketchbook, on which he was appeared to be idly doodling. Bucky was stretched across the couch, as much as physically possible anyways, and was reading a sci-fi paperback. 

“Hey Steve” 

“Hm?” Steve responded, not looking up from what he was drawing.

“Do you think people are ever going to live in space?” 

“You mean like aliens?” Steve asked

“No like, human people”

“I dunno,” He finally looked up from his sketchbook. “I guess astronauts kind of live in space for a bit, right?”

“Yeah, but I mean like-”

Bucky was cut off by a knock on the door.

“Not it.” Steve quickly touching a finger to his crooked nose.

Bucky rolled his eyes, nudging Steve in the ribs with his foot as he got up, “What are you twelve?”

Steve shrugged, burying his foot deeper between the cushions. “You’re just mad that-”

“Is that me?” Bucky stopped on his way to the door and leaned over Steve’s shoulder, pointing to Steve’s sketch, which was an astronaut, bearing a striking resemblance to Bucky. 

“No,” Steve replied shifting the book slightly so Bucky couldn't quite see it. 

“It sure looks an awful lot like me,” Bucky said, tilting his head, “and his name tag says Buck”

“Actually it doesn't.” Steve took the pencil and carefully wrote over the tiny letter ‘u’, “Actually, uh, his name is Beck”

Bucky was still laughing when he pulled open the door to reveal two women standing in the hall, neither of them looking even remotely amused. 

“Mister Barnes?,” The taller of the two, though not by much, asked with a British accent.

“Yes, who-”

“Agents Carter and Martinelli with the FBI,” She responded gesturing to herself and her partner.

“The what now?,” Steve asked coming up behind Bucky.

“FBI” The woman who had identified herself as Agent Carter said, as they took out their badges, “Stands for Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is-”

Steve shook his head, “No I know what the FBI is, but why are you here?”

“We just have a few questions about the death of Ms. Pickens”, Agent Martinelli stepped in, “You’re not in any sort of trouble,” She assured them.

“She just moved here,” Bucky replied, “We only met her once”

Agent Carter nodded, “Nevertheless”

Bucky nodded, “Sure, have a seat, can we get you anything? Coffee? Tea?,” He asked gesturing towards the worn kitchen table.

“Tea would be lovely thank you,” Agent Carter replied, and Agent Martinelli nodded in agreement as the two of them took seats at the table.

Once Steve had set the tea on the table and everybody was seated, Agent Martinelli asked, “So you mentioned you had met her once before, what did you notice?”

“Nothing.” Bucky shrugged. “She seemed normal. I mean she was a little preoccupied, but she was busy moving in, who could blame her?”

Agent Martinelli nodded, making notes. “Have you noticed any strange occurrences? Even things like strange lights or sudden temperature changes could be significant”

XxxxX

Back at their hotel room, Peggy was standing in front of the mirror pinning her damp hair up in delicate curls. 

“Hey Pegs,” Angie said, stepping out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

“Hmm?” Peggy responded through a mouthful of bobby pins.

“Can we go out for pizza?” Angie asked pulling on a pair of worn old jeans.

“I can’t,” Peggy replied.

“Why not”

Peggy pointed to her half-pinned up hair, “Do I even need to answer? How about we just have pizza delivered.”

Angie’s jaw dropped as she feigned insult, “I, as a full blooded Italian am honestly appalled! We are in Brooklyn, we are getting some authentic pizza.” She pulled a sweatshirt over her head. “Just take them out and let’s go!”

“Authentic?” Peggy laughed.

‘What’s funn-”

“I’ve seen you eat sauce out of a jar”

Angie rolled her eyes, “Just because it’s from a jar-”

“And Bagel Bites”

“Okay that was-”

“And Spaghettios” Peggy finished smirking.

“Alright, Alright, you got me” Angie stepped up behind Peggy wrapping her arms around her waist, “Maybe I just wanted to take my girlfriend out on a date. Is that such a crime?”

Peggy tried to keep a straight face but her eyes softened, “Maybe tomorrow Ang”

Angie pouted

Peggy pressed her lips together, trying to hold off the inevitable. “Fine,” she relented after a record-breaking fifteen seconds.

Angie’s face broke into a wide smile, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go, I know just the place!”

XxxxX

At around one in the morning, Peggy was shaken awake by Angie.

“Hmm?”

“Something’s wrong”

Peggy rubbed her eyes. “What’s the matter?”

Angie furrowed her eyebrows, “I don’t know, it feels like my insides are being torn apart”

“It’s probably from that ‘authentic’ pizza place, “ Peggy said mischievously, “I didn’t know that when you said authentic, you meant-”

“No,” Angie shook her head “Something’s off”

Peggy sat up, no longer joking around, “Off like?”

“Like not-” she squeezed her eyes shut, “Not natural. I think-I think it’s witches”

“You think there’s a hex bag somewhere in here?” Peggy asked already climbing out of their bed.

Angie nodded, wrapping her arms around her abdomen.

And just like that, Peggy was a woman on a mission, pulling open drawers, tossing their contents all over the ground, yanking the pillowcases off. Of course, it was possible that it was nothing, but if this was the work of witches, she had to find the hex bag and burn it before they had a chance to finish their spell. She had looked almost everywhere and Angie had started coughing a horrible, wet, strangled sort of hack when she pulled open the last drawer and there it was. Nestled neatly in between Peggy’s pantsuits. Peggy set it on the tabletop, and, with trembling hands, tried one, two, three times before successfully lighting the match. The small burlap pouch burned bright blue for a few seconds until it was nothing more than a little pile of ash. Once that was over, she turned back to the bad, her eyes falling on Angie who was laying flat on her back, breathless.

“I’m good,” Angie said, as Peggy rushed over.

Peggy knelt on the bed beside Angie, lifting her up by her armpits and holding her tight. Don’t you ever do that again” She scolded softly after letting out a breath she hadn't known she’d been holding. Angie pulled away slightly, sitting up, “Hey,” She touched her fingers lightly to Peggy’s cheek. “Hey, come on, I’m okay, don’t-”

“I was so scared,” Peggy whispered, almost as though she was ashamed, as she pulled Angie back against her chest.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, Angie tracing her fingers up and down Peggy’s back, pretending she couldn’t hear her sniffling because she knew Peggy needed this, and saying anything about it would do nothing but embarrass her.

“Okay,” Peggy said when she finally let go of Angie, “we’re safe for now, but we need to figure out who else could be in danger”

“Well, we’ve only talked to the two guys renting the apartment above hers” Angie pointed out.

XxxxX

They were one minute away from the apartment when Peggy’s cell rang, “Hello”

“Miss Carter?” Came a nervous voice from the other end. 

“Yes,” Peggy looked at Angie, tapping her leg to get her attention. “May I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Bucky Barnes,” He answered. “You told us to call you if we saw anything strange, and Steve found -um- it’s like a little pouch made out of burlap in his room and we opened it and there’s all this weird stuff inside -tiny bones, herbs, and I- It’s not ours, so I- Steve?”

“Bucky,” Peggy said. “I need you to burn that”

“Oh my god, I can’t- I have to go”

“No- listen to me” Peggy was nearly shouting into the phone, “You need to burn that”

But it was too late. He had already hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things:  
> 1) In supernatural hex bags are little pouches filled with magic stuff used by witches is they're casting a spell "off-site" (like they could be on the other side of the city from where Peggy and Angie were staying, but the spell will travel the distance to their room because it's like channeled through the hex bag) they can be used for other things too, but at this point I'm rambling lol sorry  
> 2) bagel bites are these little frozen pizzas made on tiny bagels and spaghetios are these gross noodles in watery ketchup and they come in a can. (obviously, no offense if you enjoy either of these things but they're not authentic Italian cuisine lmao)  
> 


	2. Chapter 2

After hanging up the phone, Bucky turned to Steve, who had fallen to the linoleum kitchen floor, hands clutching at his chest as he gasped for air, “What’s wrong?” 

“Can’t-” Steve gasped, “-Can't breathe”

Bucky nodded, trying to stay calm, but his heart was rocketing against his ribs, “Where’s your inhaler?”

Steve shook his head slightly, holding it out, “Not doing anything”

“Okay,” Bucky said pulling his phone back out to dial 911 with trembling fingers. “Just focus on breathing, no more talking”

Steve nodded, showing he understood.

“911 where’s your emergency?” The calm voice of the 911 dispatcher came from the phone.

Bucky was about to answer when all of a sudden, the two FBI agents from earlier burst through the door.

“What are you-” Bucky began to ask.

“Where is it?” Agent Carter asked, a lighter in her hand.

“On Steve’s bed.” Bucky pointed towards the bedroom, “But Steve-”

Agent Carter rushed into the bedroom as Agent Martinelli knelt beside Steve and Bucky. “He’s going to be alright”

“How can you possibly-” Bucky started reaching for his phone once again, but then he stopped. Because, against all logic, Steve suddenly _was_ alright. A little breathless and the blue around his lips was still fading, but it was indeed fading. 

“What-” Steve struggled to sit up, “What happened?”

“What in the hell was that?” Bucky asked Agent Carter as he helped pull Steve up into a sitting position with trembling hands, and leaning his body against his chest.

“What the hell was what?”  
“What did you just do? What happened to Steve?” Bucky asked, running his hand up and down Steve’s back.

“Sir?” The 911 operator’s calm, clear voice came from his phone which was lying on the floor, “Sir are you there?”

“There’s uh- there’s no more emergency,” Bucky said, confused, before hanging up the phone.

“What the hell is going on?” He demanded again. First the weird questions about Ms. Pickens death (unusual temperature changes? How is that a normal question for the FBI to be asking?). Then the bag in Steve’s room, Steve’s brush with death, and his miraculous recovery. Don’t get him wrong, Bucky was overjoyed that Steve was okay, but that doesn't change that this whole thing had something extremely fishy about it. 

Agent Carter’s eyes met Agent Martinelli’s and they appeared to be having a whole conversation, with only their eyes.

“We’ll tell you everything,” Agent Martinelli said, looking pointedly at Agent Carter, who had pursed her lips, evidently not having come out on top in this particular argument.

XxxxX

Peggy saw where Angie was coming from, and for the most part, she agreed. In this case, if she was being completely honest and objective about it, Angie was right. Steve and Bucky should know what's out there, not only if they might know more than they’re letting on, but also because they were at risk. As much of a realist as she was, though, Peggy hated telling people. She hated destroying the bubble so to speak and exposing them to the real horrors that lay in wait when you turned off the light. To be fair, her point of view was also not the most unbiased; watching your own brother be disemboweled by werewolves at the ripe age of sixteen can do that to a person, though.

“You have to promise” She heard Angie saying as they all sat down at the worn kitchen table once again, “that you will hear us out, you need to listen to the whole story”

Bucky nodded, one hand still on Steve’s arm as though he half expected him to stop breathing again, their chairs scooted right up against each other. 

Peggy felt a soft smile curl her lips. They looked so familiar, and it really broke her heart to have to shatter their little corner of the world.

“We’re not really FBI” Angie started, “And as far as law enforcement is concerned, Ms. Pickens died of natural causes. But she didn’t. She was murdered, and we’re trying to catch the killers.”

“Why don’t you just report it,” Bucky asked, clearly uncomfortable with this turn of events, “That’s what the law enforcement is there for.”

Peggy shook her head, “Not this. They don’t have the resources to deal with this.”

“And you do?” Steve interjected.

Peggy nodded, “This is what we do. Angie and I, we’re hunters. We hunt the things that go bump in the night; ghosts, witches, monsters, demons, you name it”

“Monsters? Seriously?” Bucky asked, evidently not buying it. 

“In this specific case, we’re more likely looking at witches” Peggy replied, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice. “The bag you found, it’s called a hex bag, witches will plant them in places they plan to cast a spell or near people they plan to cast a spell on. It focuses the magic on a certain point so they can perform the spell somewhere safe.”

“You think somebody cast a spell on me?” Steve asked, reluctantly, as though he really didn’t want to believe, but was running out of other options.

“What do you think?” She replied.

“I think...it felt like there were cold hands wrapping themselves around my neck” Steve swallowed, “It didn’t feel natural”

“So as long as you trust us,” Peggy said, “You can help us help you”

“We want to help” Steve and Bucky replied in unison.

Peggy nodded. “First we need to know if there’s anything you weren’t telling us. Anything strange anything at all”

“In case you hadn't noticed” Steve responded, “We live in New York City. You’re going to have to do better than ‘strange’.”

Angie laughed, “Okay -um- visitors, to your knowledge has anybody ever come to see her.”

“One guy,” Steve replied, “I don’t know if she even knew him, I just saw him outside of her door when I was walking past, and he- if I’m being completely honest I thought he was homeless, he was filthy, and he smelled, oh god he smelled like rotten eggs-”

“Rotten eggs?” Peggy interrupted.

“Yeah, it was pretty bad, why?”

“Because that means that not only do we have witches on our hands, we also have a demon”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I guess it is impossible for me to write on anything that even resembles a regular schedule, sorry about that, but I hope you enjoyed and I will really try to update soon!


	3. Chapter 3

“Demons?” Bucky asked.

Peggy nodded, “That might be how the witches are getting their powers”

“Demons?” Bucky asked again, more exasperated.

“You can’t stay here,” Peggy said, ignoring Bucky. “We’re going to have to find a motel or something for the next couple nights. It’s not safe here”

Steve and Bucky nodded.

“You two pack,” Peggy said, “I just need to get a few things from the car”

XxxxX

Steve was nearly done packing when he heard the sound of someone using an aerosol spray can in the living room a few minutes later.

“What the hell?” Steve poked his head out of the room to see Peggy standing on the coffee table spray painting an enormous pentagram on the ceiling. “What are you doing?”

“Setting a trap,” Peggy answered, glancing down at the book Angie was holding up before she started adding strange symbols to the painting on the ceiling.

“What _is_ that?” Bucky asked, entering the living room, duffle bag in hand.

“Devil’s trap,” Peggy replied, still not taking her eyes off of the painting.

“You’re trying to trap the _devil_?” Bucky tilted his head, trying to get a good look at the ceiling.

Peggy rolled her eyes, sighing impatiently.

“No just demons,” Angie answered, sparing Bucky Peggy’s sharp-tongued response. “We’re going to leave it here in case he drops by, then come back in the morning to see if we’ve caught anything.”

“What do you think?” Peggy asked, tipping her head back to see the whole thing.

“Not bad” Angie replied closing the book and sitting it on the coffee table before reaching up to help Peggy down.

“What’s this?” Bucky asked, gesturing towards the leather-bound notebook on the coffee table. 

“Our notes,” Angie replied, “about every supernatural being we’ve ever come across.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile a little as Bucky’s eyes lit up with a curiosity and thirst for knowledge unique only to Bucky and noticed only by Steve.

“Can I-” he started to ask, reaching for it.

“We have to get going,” Peggy said, shoving the book and the spray paint into a duffel bag.

Bucky’s smile faltered. “Yeah -um- yeah of course”

XxxxX

6 hours later 

Bucky opened his eyes to see Steve standing over him, shaking his shoulders.

“C’mon Buck,” He said, not letting up, “Peggy wanted us to meet her at eight and it’s almost nine.”

Bucky smirked, rubbing the sleep from his eye. “You scared of her?”

“No,” Steve answered honestly, “But she means business, so get your ass out of bed.”

Bucky sighed. “Can I at least shower?”

“There’s an unidentified substance stuck to the shower curtain, but be my guest.”

Bucky climbed out of bed, running one hand through his hair and stifling a yawn with the other. “I’m still not sure why we couldn’t just stay at our place”

“Not safe,” Steve answered as ..Bucky entered the bathroom and turned the shower on.

“Yeah well, I think I’ll take the demons over the Nickelodeon slime, thank you very much.”

Steve laughed. “Make it quick in there”

XxxxX

By the time Steve and Bucky came out to the car, the Peggy was already in the car. She had her head turned and seemed to be talking to somebody in the backseat. “Hop in,” she called out the open window once she saw them.

Bucky opened the back door of the car, a black chevy impala, he had his money on it being a 1967, but Bucky couldn't be sure.

“One of you is going to have to sit up here with me,” Peggy said, gesturing to Angie who was sit-laying across two out of three of the seats in the back row, fast asleep. “Come on I don't bite”

Steve was already sitting in the back with Angie, so Bucky climbed into the front.

“Sorry,” Bucky mumbled sheepishly.

“For what?” Peggy asked.

“Being late”

Peggy shrugged, “You were only ten minutes late, it's forgivable”

Bucky turned to look at Steve, who grinned at him apologetically. “I knew if I told you nine we wouldn't get out here until ten”

Peggy laughed as she pulled out into the street.

“Where are we going?" Steve asked, “If you don't mind my asking.”

“Diner,” she answered, “Angie’s hungry”

Steve glanced over at the near-comatose Angie. “How do you-”

“She's always hungry.” Peggy smiled, “And we need somewhere to sit and talk”

XxxxX

They sat in a booth near the back of the diner where the early morning sunlight streamed across the tabletop.

“So what’s the plan?” Bucky asked once they had placed their orders.

“We are going to find a safe place for the two of you to stay while Angie and I take care of this” Peggy replied, glancing across the diner and out the windows visible from her seat as though she thought somebody might be watching them.

“What? No way,” Steve exclaimed. “That thing tried to kill me, I’m not just going to let somebody else take care of it.”

Bucky nodded in agreement.

Peggy glanced between them, gauging exactly how much of a fight she was in for. Steve and Bucky both seemed equally indignant at the idea that they would be expected to stay hidden in safety.

“It’s your choice,” She conceded, “but from personal experience, revenge is not all it’s cracked up to be”

Steve shook his head. “I don't want revenge, I just want to fight my own battles”

“I’m not going to stop you, but once you're in there's a chance you'll never get out”

“We’re in,” Bucky answered, seeming completely confident that Steve was in agreement.

“Okay, first things first, we need to check our trap, see if we've caught anything,” Peggy said after a beat.

XxxxX

Peggy had parked the car in front of the apartment building, and they were standing around the trunk. Peggy unlocked it and popped it open, revealing a most likely illegal number and variety of weapons. She handed an oddly shaped knife with carvings along the blade to Angie and tucked a seemingly old revolver into the waist of her pants. Then she reached back into the trunk, grabbing two silver flasks offering them to Steve and Bucky.

“Oh um - no thanks.” Bucky shook his head. “I'm not really one for day drinking”

“Well good thing you're not drinking it then,” Peggy remarked, shoving the flasks into their hands, “it's holy water, harmless to you but to demons, it's like acid.”

“Oh,” Bucky held it awkwardly, “Um how exactly does that - how would I-”

“Just screw the top off and splash it wherever you can on their body, eyes are ideal,” Peggy said grabbing the leather notebook from before and shutting the trunk. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yeah, can we just have a second?” Steve asked gesturing between himself and Bucky.

“Of course.” Peggy and Angie left to stand by the entrance to the apartment building.

Steve turned to Bucky, “You don’t have to do this for me”

Bucky met his eyes, “I know, I’m doing this because _I_ want to. I can’t imagine what it was like for you, but I felt so helpless, there was nothing I could do, I thought - I thought I was going to have to watch you die.” his lip trembled, “I was so scared, I _am_ so scared.”

“It’s okay, Bucky I’m okay”

All of a sudden, Bucky pulled Steve into his chest, “Promise me you’ll never do that again”

Steve’s head was pressed against Bucky’s chest in a way that he could hear Bucky’s heart beat racing in his ears. Only when he replied “I promise” and wrapped his arms around his back, did it start to slow back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are enjoying it so far, I know it's been moving kind of slowly but it should pick up soon! (also as always I apologize for being the slowest writer on the face of the earth)


	4. Chapter 4

“Go, go, go, get in the car,” Peggy shouted running across the street towards the car, pulling her keys out of her pocket.

Steve, Bucky, and Angie were right behind her, and once they were all in the car, Peggy hit the gas and they were flying down the street at a speed that was normally reserved for rockets and NASCAR racers. They were officially on the run.

_Steve dropped the gun, his hands shaking, as the second witch’s body fell to the floor._

_“Thanks,” Angie gasped, massaging her neck, where the witch’s hands had been squeezing._

_They stood there, catching their breath when they heard a hushed voice from down the hall, “I just witnessed a murder”_

_Peggy’s gaze flicked to the door, then back to the group. “We have to get out of here”_

“So what’s the plan?” Peggy asked, turning around to look at Steve and Bucky.

“Why are you asking us?” Steve asked.

“You saved my life,” Angie said, “You’re part of the team now.”

“That is, only if you want to be.” Peggy clarified. “We could drop you off somewhere with new identities and you could make like you never saw us.”

Steve looked at Bucky, who nodded. “We’d like to stay”

“Okay, so where to?” Peggy asked Angie.

“I say we lie low for a while until we catch wind of a case.”

“Sounds good, where’re we going?”, Peggy asked.

Angie shrugged. “We’ll know when we run out of gas.”

“Okay,” Peggy nodded, “Boys what do you think, north, south, east, or west?”

Steve and Bucky thought for a moment.

“Hang on,” Angie said, after checking her phone, “Howard just texted me, he said he’s got a case if you guys want it”

Peggy turned again to look at Steve and Bucky. “You guys up to it? You really wouldn’t even have to do anything, just hang in the hotel”

They nodded, “Yeah that’s fine”

“Alright well he said it’s in a small town by Albany, which would mean it's about three hours away,” Angie said, “So you guys might want to study up before we get there.” She passed back the leather notebook. “Keep in mind, this isn’t everything that’s out there, but this is everything that we’ve encountered and know for certain.”

Steve smiled and looked over Bucky’s shoulder as he started excitedly flipping through the pages.

“Are these in alphabetical order?” Bucky asked.

“Nope,” Angie answered, “Chronological”

Bucky nodded, “So um, when exactly - I mean - where in the book - that is where would I find um-”

“He wants to know about aliens,” Steve interrupted.

“Aliens?” Peggy laughed, “You’re not going to find anything about extraterrestrial life in there.”

Bucky’s face fell.

“You will, however, find your fair share of ghosts, and ghouls,” Peggy smiled

“It’s not the same,” Bucky mumbled, as he flipped back to the front of the book and starting to read enthusiastically anyway.

XxxxX

Two and a half hours later Bucky finished skimming through the book and promptly fell asleep, leaning his head against Steve’s, who was already asleep with _his_ head against Bucky’s shoulder.

Peggy glanced into the backseat, making sure they were both asleep, “are you sure we did the right thing?”

“We made the best choice in the moment, for the moment,” Angie replied carefully.

“But what about the long run,” Peggy said, “Did we just ruin their lives?”

“If we hadn’t done what we did, they wouldn’t have lives for us to ruin,” Angie placed her hand over Peggy’s on the steering wheel, “We did the right thing.”

“This whole thing just reminds me of when we took you from LA and I just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry, I had no right to do that, you had your whole life ahead of you and-”

“What life?” Angie interrupted, “Peggy I was waiting tables at the worst diner in LA praying for my ‘big break’, That doesn’t even hold a candle to this. I chose to follow you, and there’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you.”

“Angie-”

“Peggy listen, this isn’t what I pictured I would be doing with my life, but right now, I can’t picture myself doing anything else, you didn’t take anything from me, on the contrary, you gave me more than I ever could have wished for, so don’t ever apologize to me, not for this.”

Peggy nodded and took a deep breath, “Okay so how much did Howard tell you?” 

“He texted me a bunch of stuff, he thinks that it’s a black dog,” Angie said, scrolling through her messages with Howard.

“That’s something new for us,” 

“Yeah for him too, it seems,” Angie opened one of the three sources Howard had sent her on black dogs, “He doesn’t seem to know exactly what it is.”

“Howard? Not knowing something?” Peggy gasped in mock surprise, “That has to be a first”

Angie laughed, “Well a lot of the lore is really vague and some of it is kind of contradictory. One of the things he sent says that the black dog is a large black dog with glowing eyes that hunts people in streets, bridges, hallways, stairwells, any place you would be traveling through. The other source says they are a death omen but do no actual killing themselves.”

Peggy nodded, “but?”

“I don’t think that’s what it is” 

“What are you thinking?”

“The victims all reported hearing dogs following them before they were killed, and the attacks show what you would expect if they were killed by a massive dog, but they were all killed in rooms, no halls or streets, or anything like that.”

“Werewolves?” Peggy suggested.

“Hearts were all intact,” Angie said, “Shredded, but intact”

Peggy bit her lip, “Could it be a hellhound?”

“A what now?”

“Hellhound,” Peggy replied, “My brother and I came across one before you started hunting with us. The one that we were hunting had gone rogue,’ she explained, “But usually they work with demons, collecting souls when their time is up”

“I thought the reapers did that”

“Yeah, but if you sell your soul, the demons send hellhounds after you once your time is up.”

“When your time is up?”

“When someone makes a deal with a demon, the demon will give them a certain amount of time, usually ten years, to live their life, but after that, the demons send hellhounds to kill the person and take their soul to hell.”

“Oh,” Angie looked out the window as Peggy turned off the highway, “That sounds pleasant”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I am so sorry for being so inconsistent. There are definitely more chapters to come, but I'm not going to say when because I'll definitely end up with my foot in my mouth lol. As always thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! In the meantime, you can catch me on tumblr [here](http://cozybvcky.tumblr.com/)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for being the world's worst writer, but here is chapter five. I have pretty much written the rest of the fic, so I _swear_ I will be updating bi-weekly (once every two weeks) from here on out. Sorry again, and I hope you enjoy!

It was two in the afternoon when they finally arrived at the motel. Peggy beeped the horn, “Rise and shine boys”

Steve sat up, rubbing his eyes, “What’s going on?”

“We’re all checked in,” Angie said opening the door and reached in to get hers and Peggy’s bags. She tossed a key back to Steve and Bucky. “You guys are in room 113, once Peggy and I are settled we’ll meet you guys in there, okay?”

Steve and Bucky nodded and began gathering up their possessions.

XxxxX

Fifteen minutes later, once they were all unpacked, Angie and Peggy knocked on the door of room 113.

“Long time no see,” Angie joked, sitting pretzel legged on the bed closest to the door, “You guys want to go out tonight?” She asked.

Bucky shot her a questioning look, which Peggy responded to. “We’re going to go out to a bar or two and ask around, see if anyone has any information about our case, you two are more than welcome to tag along.”

Bucky then looked to Steve, who shrugged and nodded, as if to say _why not?_.

“Yeah sure,” Bucky replied. “We’ll come”

“Great,” Peggy said, “and one more thing, if you're going to be riding with us you're going to need some ink.”

“Some what?” 

Peggy pulled the sleeve of her t-shirt up to show a tattoo of a five-pointed star surrounded by a ring of flames. “They're anti-possession marks, the idea is that if you tattoo it onto your body, you won't be possessed by demons. There’s a place in town, we can go whenever you’re ready.”

“Don’t you have to make an appointment?” Bucky asked.

“The owner is an old friend, She’s opening early for us”

“Early? What time does she usually open?”

 

“Nine o’clock at night” Peggy replied, “She’s a bit eccentric”

XxxxX

“Here we are,” Angie said, as Peggy parked the car in front of an old and fairly small church. The sign outside with the removable letters read _Dotties Parlour, open 9 pm to 7 am all days of the week_

“You sure weren't kidding about eccentric, is she a hunter like you guys?” Steve asked.

“No she’s actually-” Peggy stopped to reconsider what she was about to say. “Don’t freak out, but she's a vampire.”

“A what?” Bucky exclaimed.

“Vampire.” Angie replied nonchalantly, “Or as most people know them: fangbanger.”

Peggy rolled her eyes but laughed despite herself, “Angie you’re the only one who says that.”

“Whatever,” Angie shrugged, “Anyway, you’ve got nothing to worry about, they’ve been living completely off of bagged blood for decades.”

The door to the church opened, interrupting their conversation. “You guys coming in or what?” The tall blonde woman in the doorway called out.

“We’re coming, Dot,” Angie called back. “The boys are starting to get cold feet.”

“Nonsense, get inside, I’m absolutely melting out here”

They went inside to see that the inside of the church had been gutted. It was completely open inside, the different sections separated by black mesh dividers and curtains. The walls were pure white and all of the furniture was black, the only color coming from the stained glass windows. 

“This is gorgeous Dot” Peggy breathed looking around. 

“Aren’t these a bit inconvenient though?” Angie asked gesturing towards the enormous stained glass windows which took up much of the walls.

Dottie smiled softly, “Ellie loves the moonlight, she loves the windows, and besides, it’s not like the sunlight kills us, it's just painful”

Peggy shook her head, “I must say, I never pictured this for you.”

“Me neither, trust me,” Dottie laughed, “But for the first time, in a long time, I don’t feel like I’m cursed, and it’s absolutely lovely.” She cleared her throat and smiled exposing her retractable fangs “So, I hear you've brought me some fresh meat?”

Bucky stepped backward, protectively throwing an arm in front of Steve.

She laughed, pulling the fangs back into her gums, “I’m just pulling your leg, You two are here to get your anti-possession tats right?”

“Yeah, but we’re in town on business, so we kind of have to cut the chatter,” Peggy said, sitting on the black couch with Angie, flipping through a binder of Dottie's previous works.

“Okay, right this way lads,” Dottie said, leading them to one of the two curtained off areas in the back.

XxxxX

About three hours later the four of them sat on Steve and Bucky’s beds eating the cheeseburgers they had picked up on the way back from Dottie’s.

“Do we have a game plan for tonight?” Angie asked between bites.

“Not really, I just figured we could ask around, get a feel for what's going on and then maybe start a real investigation tomorrow.” Peggy replied, “Why?” 

“Just wondering.” Angie pulled a pickle out of her burger and held it out to Peggy, “You want?”

Peggy took the pickle, “So do you guys have any questions or anything? I know you read most of the book, but don’t be afraid to ask about anything. I know it’s a lot to swallow. ”

“What are you guys hunting here?” Steve asked.

“Well, two people here have died after what appears to be dog attacks, but nobody has seen any dogs around. Initially, our friend Howard had thought it might be a black dog, but we think what we’re looking for is a hellhound.”

“What’s that?” Bucky asked.

“Hellhounds are massive invisible dogs that do the demons’ bidding. The name is pretty self-explanatory really”

“So are you hunting a demon too?”

Peggy shrugged. “We’re not sure yet. Most likely yes, but it's also possible that the hellhound has gone rogue.”

“So what are you hoping to learn at the bar?” Bucky asked, “Why not just interview them like you did with us?”

“Impersonating the FBI is pretty illegal, so we try to only do it when it’s really necessary.” Peggy replied, “Right now we’re just trying to get a better feel for what’s going on.”

Bucky nodded thoughtfully.

They chatted for another half an hour about hunting, and life on the road in general before they split up to get ready for their night out.

XxxxX

“Some ground rules before we go in,” Peggy said, using the rearview mirror to touch up her lipstick. “Be casual, don’t draw attention to yourselves, and if Angie or I tell you it’s time to go, we go. Immediately.”

“I also feel compelled to add,” Buck turned to look directly at Steve. “Don’t start any fights.”

“I mean, I would think that goes without saying…” Peggy’s eyebrows wrinkled up with confusion.

Steve scowled.

“You’d be surprised,” Bucky said.

XxxxX

They had been at the bar for nearly two hours and had made barely any progress. They had spoken to some friends of a few of the victims, and the bartender and learned that both of the victims had come across some sort of miracle ten years ago, and while this did basically prove that they had made deals, it wasn’t exactly breaking news, and they still had no leads.

“This is a bust.” Angie sat on a stool with her chin in her hand bumping her toes against the front of the bar. “We haven’t learned a single thing that we didn’t already know.”

Peggy sighed, “just give me a few more minutes, then we can go back, I promise.”

Angie was about to respond, but something over Peggy’s shoulder caught her eye. At the pool table towards the back of the bar, a tall bald man with a messy gray beard, stood waving the pool cue at a much smaller man, who had apparently bumped into him ‘ruining his shot’.

“Actually, I have something else in mind.”

Peggy turned to see the scene a the pool table. “You want to hustle him?”

Angie nodded.

“Go for it,” Peggy handed Angie her wallet, “But you better not lose my money.”

Angie laughed, “Come on Peg, we both know I’m the best in the biz”

Peggy rolled her eyes, “Why don’t you take Steve with you, show him the ropes, Bucky and I will try to talk to the rest of the people in here and then we can all leave.”

“Sounds good,” Angie said, before walking over to Steve and explaining their plan.

XxxxX

They had spoken to nearly everyone in the bar, so Bucky glanced over at the pool table. Angie was running the show, pretending to be completely wasted while getting the man to bet more and more money. At this point, he had almost three hundred dollars on the table. Steve sat next to them, interrupting whenever she would add more money to the table, trying to get her to stop, telling the her that he needed to get her back home.

“He _is_ pretty cute,” came a woman’s voice from behind Bucky, as though she were agreeing with something he had just said.

Bucky turned to see a beautiful woman sitting at the bar behind him, swirling her drink with a straw, “What did you say?”

She looked up at him and smiled, “I couldn’t help but overhear-”

“I didn’t even say anything-”

“You were thinking it _so loud_ ” 

“Sorry, what?”

“Please, sweetie you’re so lovesick I’m afraid that if you sneeze, I’ll be head over heels for him myself.”

“How do you know?” Bucky saw Peggy eying them over the woman’s shoulder.

She smiled again, “a good magician never reveals her secrets.”

Bucky shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, he would never-”

“What if I told you he would.”

Bucky shook his head, “No, you don’t understand-”

“I understand a lot more than you give me credit for. I’m capable of a lot more than you give me credit for as well.” She stood up and stepped towards him. “I can get you what you want” She blinked and her eyes flashed to dark red. “Whatever you want. And it wouldn’t cost you anything. Not for ten whole years.”

Peggy was standing right behind her now, looking to Bucky for some kind of confirmation. He nodded, and in the blink of an eye, the demon’s wrists were cuffed together behind her back.

“What-”

“Gotcha,” Peggy whispered in her ear.

She snarled and pulled her wrists against the cuffs, but they held strong. Then she tilted her head back and opened her mouth wide, almost as if she were about to scream but nothing came out except for a strangled choking sound. She turned to face Peggy, “How-”

“I have some very creative friends.” Peggy said, “We noticed that regular handcuffs didn’t seem to be working all too well on you guys, so we had to do a little designing, Now if you’re through acting like a child, we can go outside and talk like grownups.”

XxxxX

Out of the corner of her eye, Angie watched Peggy and Bucky escorting a woman out of the bar.

“Alright last round,” she slurred, “double what's on the table.”

The man laughed pulling the money out of his pocket. “This is almost too easy.” Little did he know how right he was.

XxxxX

“How many more contracts are you holding?” Peggy asked

“I don't think that's any of your business.”

“Let's make it my business”

The demon tilted her head studying Peggy, “I'll let them all go if you want.”

“Obviously that's what I want”

“In return, all I ask for is your soul.”

Peggy shook her head. “How about I make you an offer? If you release them from their contracts, I'll stop.”

“Stop what?”

Peggy locked eyes with the demon, “Exorcizamus te”

“I wouldn't make threats if I were you”

“Omnis immundus spiritus”

“You don't scare me,” she said, although she was betrayed by a slight tremble in her lip.

“Omnis satanica potestas,” Peggy continued.

Her body jerked violently.

“Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii”

She doubled over in pain.

“Omnis congregatio et secta diabolica”

“STOP,” she screamed. “I'll release them all just please stop.”

“How do I know that you're telling the truth.”

“My contracts are binding. If you seal the deal, their contracts will be destroyed immediately, and the hellhounds will be called off.” She sobbed.

“How do I seal the deal?”

“Same way I seal all of my deals.” She straightened up. “With a kiss”

Peggy wrinkled her nose in disgust as she pressed a quick kiss against the demon’s lips. Just as they broke apart, Steve came running out of the bar, Angie not far behind.

“Peggy start the car,” she yelled, between fits of breathless laughter.

The man she had been playing came running out of the bar after them. Peggy lept into the car.

“You can't just leave me here.” The demon tried fruitlessly to wriggle out of her handcuffs.

“Yeah I can,” she said, peeling out the second Angie and Steve got in the car, leaving an angry man and an even angrier demon behind in the parking lot.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this one is a little late, I was on vacation :)

On their next hunt, while staking out a house, Peggy asked Bucky what the demon had offered him.

He glanced over at Steve before saying that she had been vague, just offering to give him whatever it was that he wanted most.

Peggy was no fool. Her life depended on her being observant and intuitive, and what she saw in that glance twisted her heart in a knot. Angie changed the subject after that, saying that if she could wish for anything she would just wish for more wishes, sparking the riveting debate over whether using a wish to wish for more wishes was a valid use of said wish.

XxxxX

The topic of wishes didn’t come up again for almost four months, when they were hunting what Howard believed to be a djinn in a small town near Joliet, Illinois.

Peggy had left the motel to get food and the rest of them had stayed behind to research djinn.

“So how's the research going nerds?” She asked.

“Not bad,” Angie replied, putting her on speakerphone. “Bucky found something that said they like to set up camp in big empty ruins, so we can start with that tomorrow.”

Peggy nodded. “Hey, do you guys think they can really grant wishes?” 

“Not to be a pessimist, but I doubt it,” Steve answered. “And if they do, there’s got to be some kind of price tag.”

“Yeah, but what if- hang on” Peggy stopped the car. “I just saw an abandoned warehouse. I’m going to go check it out.”

“Come back and get us first.” Angie insisted.

“No, it’s fine, I’m just checking it out, I’ll come back and get you if there’s anything here.”

“Peggy just come get us, you don’t even have the right weapons.”

“Angie, relax, I’m not going to try to kill it, I just want to see if it’s actually there.”

“I don’t-”

“I promise if there’s anything there I’ll leave straight away and come get you guys, it just doesn’t make sense to drag you guys out if it could be nothing.”

Angie paused, seeming to consider it. “I don’t like it, but okay. Just promise me you won’t get hurt.”

Peggy laughed turning off the car and getting out. “I can take care of myself, Angie.”

“Okay, see you later.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Peggy shut off her phone and made her way up towards the warehouse as quietly as possible. The doors were unlocked and she peeked inside before slowly pushing it open. The room appeared to be empty, but it was dark and she couldn’t see across the entire warehouse just by the beam of her flashlight. She turned suddenly, thinking she had heard footsteps behind her. Once she was sure there was nothing there, she lowered her flashlight in relief. That’s when she felt something grab her from behind and pin her against the wall. Her flashlight fell to the floor, casting an eerie light on what she assumed to be the djinn. He looked almost human, bald, and covered head to toe with tattoos. She struggled, kicking at him viciously, but to no avail. He lifted up his hand, his fingers crackling with blue electricity, and pressed it against her forehead. Everything went black.

XxxxX

An hour later Angie was pacing back and forth in the room. “It’s been too long, we should go find her.”

“Angie calm down, you won’t be able to help her if you’re going into cardiac arrest,” Bucky said

Angie took a deep breath. “You’re right. What do we do?”

“We can start by finding out which warehouse she went to,” Steve replied, already opening his laptop.

XxxxX

Peggy opened her eyes to sunlight streaming through a set of dark gray curtains. She sat up straight, instinctively reaching under her pillow for her knife, but it wasn’t there. She looked around the room, gauging her surroundings. It wasn’t the motel room or any of the rooms in Howard’s bunker, so where the hell was she and how on earth did she get there?

The room was big, bigger than any of the motel rooms she had stayed in. She was sitting on a four poster king size bed with gray silk sheets. There was a small sitting area on the opposite side of the room and there was an open door which looked like it led to the master bathroom.

“Good morning sunshine.”

Peggy looked to see Angie in the doorway that led to the bathroom. She was wearing a pink silk robe and holding a toothbrush. 

“Where are we?” 

Angie looked confused. “Um… home?”

Home? They didn’t have a home. As long as they had known each other they had been living on the road, alternating between sleeping in the Impala, staying at trashy motels, and occasionally staying at Howard’s bunker. Something was definitely off here, so she decided to play it safe. “Yeah I mean um, of course we are. Because we live together in this house and Steve and Bucky…”She trailed off hoping Angie would pick up there. 

“Apartment,” Angie corrected her, looking increasingly worried, “and who?”

“Steve and -” She shook her head. “Nevermind”

“Are you alright?” Angie asked, putting her toothbrush back in the cabinet and coming to sit next to her on the bed. “You’ve been working way too much lately. I swear if I could just get my hands on Roger Dooley I’d-” She stopped herself. “Well regardless, you have off today, so I’m prescribing you a healthy dose of staying in bed.” She gently pushed Peggy back onto the pillows, kissing her softly.

“Will you be joining me?” Peggy asked playfully, deciding that maybe this was just a dream and at the very least, she could make it a good one.

“I can’t, I’ve got an audition,” Angie said, taking off the robe and putting on the outfit that had been laid out on one of the armchairs. “But promise me you’ll stay in bed and rest for once in your life.”

“You’ll blow them away,” Peggy said because she felt like it was the appropriate thing to say even though she had no clue what was going on.

Angie smiled brightly. “You know it” She checked the mirror one last time. “How do I look?”

“Wonderful”

“Awesome.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Shit, I’ve gotta dash, but I’ll see you later.” She hurried back over to give Peggy a quick kiss on the forehead before dashing out the door. 

The second she was gone Peggy leaped out of bed and began searching the apartment for clues as to what the hell was going on. This felt way too real to be a dream, but it was obviously not her life. She wracked her brain, trying to remember where she had been before she had woken up, but it was all too fuzzy. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t quite place it. She reached into her pocket and found a folded up piece of paper that looked like it had been torn out of an old book. She took it out and unfolded it. She looked at it and instantly the events of the previous night came rushing back. 

The paper was a page from a library book that Angie had apparently had no qualms about writing on and ripping out. The page was about djinn, regarded by many as wish granters and by others as something far more sinister. Angie had circled the lines where it said that the djinn could only be defeated by silver drenched in the blood of a lamb. It was as if seeing the page had triggered a flood of memories. The empty warehouse, the tattooed man. He must have been the djinn. Did that mean- Had he granted her wish? 

No, she told herself, think of this logically. There’s no such thing as miracles and everything has a price tag. It was a depressing way to look at life, but it kept her from setting her hopes too high, which left her happier in the end. If there were no such things as miracles, what was this then? Maybe Steve and Bucky knew what was going on. Peggy tried to call them, but their numbers were out of service. She looked around for a computer and found a laptop on the coffee table in the living room. She opened it up and did a quick google search of Steve Rogers and James Barnes which revealed- 

“No,” She said aloud, “No that’s impossible.” “Two Young Men Found Dead, Killer Not Yet Found” read the news heading.r

She clicked through to the article. Apparently, Steve and Bucky had been killed via poisoning. At least that was what was suspected. There were no strong leads and every trail had gone cold. 

_Selfish_ , a voice in the back of her head whispered, _if you weren’t hunting what did you think would happen? People would just save themselves? That’s not how it works, and you know it_

Peggy shook her head trying to get the voice out of her ears but it persisted, _did you think that just because you were tired of the game, all of the monsters would stop playing? With one wish you’ve killed off dozens upon dozens of people, effectively undoing everything that you’ve spent your life working for. This has to be a new low, even for you_

She started searching other towns, other places she and Angie had hunted, and every single one was the same. Every single person she and Angie had ever saved, dead. That included Steve and Bucky, apparently. That was one hell of a price to pay. _But was it worth it?_ she asked herself, looking around their apartment. A small selfish part of her said yes, it was worth it. Why did everything have to fall to them? There were seven billion other people out there, seven billion other people who could each take up a small part of this burden. It wasn’t fair. She deserved a break. The other, larger part said, no, it wasn’t worth it. No amount of happiness was worth the cost of innocent lives, and besides, it wasn’t like she was completely miserable. With one final look around the apartment, her decision was made.

XxxxX

Angie, Steve, and Bucky drove to two other warehouses before finally passing the one with the Impala parked out front. They pulled the car that they had borrowed (it's not stealing if you return it) and got out, each brandishing a silver knife dipped in lamb’s blood. 

XxxxX

The drive from Manhattan to Joliet was 12 hours, giving Peggy plenty of time to consider turning around. But she didn’t. Not even once. Once her mind was made up, it was near impossible for anybody, even her own self, to change it. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of her phone ringing. She checked the caller ID; it was Angie. After some thought she decided not to answer it, putting her phone on silent and tossing it into the backseat. Once she killed the djinn and undid the wish, she would find Angie, but until then, she had work to do.

XxxxX

They entered the warehouse walked along the wall until they saw something. Angie gestured towards it and they walked closer. 

“Oh god,” Steve breathed. Two decomposing skeletons hung from their wrists, each with a hospital bag connected to it.

Angie gasped before taking off deeper into the warehouse.

XxxxX 

The sun was setting when Peggy finally parked in front of the warehouse. She took the knife and her flashlight and went inside. So far everything was pretty much the same as the previous night. She went in further and that was when she saw them. Two skeletons hanging from the ceiling by their wrists. Peggy’s head spun as she suddenly had a vision of herself hanging by her wrists, her blood slowly being drained into a hospital bag.

She cast the light across the room in the other direction. There were a few other bodies, the most recent of which was a young man. She rushed over to him, feeling for his pulse. It was there, but only just. He needed to get to a hospital.

It suddenly dawned on Peggy that she was in here somewhere, but not in this reality. The vision returned for a split second and she saw herself hanging right next to the young man. This was a dream, the djinn must be using people's deepest desires to keep them in their subconscious long enough for him to drain the life out of them. She had to wake up. She pinched her arm. It hurt, but it didn’t wake her up.

XxxxX

Steve and Bucky were fighting the djinn, but they had told her to keep going and find Peggy. Under normal circumstances, Angie would have stayed anyway and helped them kill the djinn, but after seeing the skeletons, she needed to find Peggy.

It took a few seconds but Angie found her. She was strung up by her wrists like all the others, and her face was deathly pale, but she was visibly breathing. Angie shook her shoulders gently, “Peggy”

XxxxX

What was the saying? If you die in a dream, you wake up in real life? She turned the knife over in her hands.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Angie?” 

Peggy turned to see Angie, who nodded.

“How did you find me? What are you really?”

Angie just shook her head, “Why’d you have to keep digging Peg? Why couldn’t you just be happy? We had everything.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stay.”

“I can’t.”

Angie’s shoulders fell. “Just stay here with me, and I promise you’ll be happy.”

“But it won’t be real.”

“Screw real, who cares about real. What has the real world ever given you?”

“It gave me you,” Peggy answered simply, reaching up to tuck Angie’s hair behind her ear. “And I can’t leave you out there all alone.”

XxxxX

Peggy didn’t respond and Angie shook her shoulder a little harder, “Peggy please just wake up”

XxxxX

Angie pressed her lips together and tears ran down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” Peggy said, “But I have to do this.”

XxxxX

Angie was frantic now, “Come on Peggy, just snap out of it.” Her hands shook as the tried and failed to untie the ropes holding Peggy up.

Peggy’s eyes fluttered open, “Angie?”

Relief washed over Angie's face as she grabbed Peggy and pulled her tight against her chest.

“Can’t breathe,” Peggy said weakly.

Angie let go of her, reaching up to untie the ropes. This time her hands had mostly stopped shaking and it was much easier. Peggy’s body fell forwards onto Angie, and she struggled to stand on her own.

“Hey woah, you’ve lost a lot of blood, I’ll help you out to the car.”

“But the Djinn-” Peggy protested.

“We got him,” Steve reported, coming into the light. “Bucky’s got the unconscious guy, he brought him out to the car, but we need to get him to the hospital pronto.”

XxxxX

Peggy hadn’t lost nearly as much blood as he had, so she didn’t need the hospital. They split once they were sure that he was being taken care of before the cops showed up.

Angie’s lips were pursed tightly as she drove them back to the motel to get their stuff before they left town. She didn’t say a word the whole trip, and Peggy slumped guiltily in the passenger seat.

She pulled into the parking lot, “Can you boys run inside and get our stuff? I’m going to stay out here and keep an eye on her.”

“I am perfectly capable of keeping an eye on myself,” Peggy protested as Steve and Bucky got out of the car. 

“Obviously you’re not” Angie replied.

“Angie I know you’re upset with me-”

Angie turned to face Peggy, “No, not at all.” She frowned. “I’m just tired of this situation. I mean don’t get me wrong I love what we do, but I hate that I have to worry that every time I turn my back you’re going to get eaten alive by some monster..” Angie trailed off.

“When I was knocked out,” Peggy started “the djinn showed me an alternate reality, where he granted my greatest wish, and it was - we were - we lived in New York City, and we lived normal lives. You were so happy, and I - I was tempted to stay. I would have given anything to stay, but everyone - everyone that we’ve ever saved-” She stopped and drew a shaky breath. “They were all dead, and I knew it wasn’t right, but I was still _so_ tempted-”

Angie pulled Peggy close. “You did the right thing,” She assured her, running her hand up and down Peggy’s back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been a little busy, so this one's a little late, but I hope you enjoy!

Bucky waited in the car, picking nervously at the steering wheel. Peggy, Angie, and Steve had gone in to take care of the rawhead and get the children that were being kept in there, but there were only three tasers and Bucky drew the short straw. He was assigned to the position of the getaway driver in case anything went wrong. He kept his eyes fixed on the front door waiting for them to come out.

Suddenly the front door flew open. Angie came out first carrying a little girl. Peggy followed her out carrying Steve’s limp form in her arms. Steve’s limp form; Bucky did a double take. That was certainly Steve, but what the hell was he doing unconscious in Peggy’s arms. Angie sat in the backseat with the little girl, and Peggy placed Steve in the backseat before climbing into the passenger's seat. 

“We need to get to the nearest hospital.” Peggy buckled her seatbelt.

‘What the hell happened in there?” Bucky asked, peeling down the street.

“His taser misfired; he took out the rawhead, but he zapped himself as well,” Peggy answered, turning around to check on Steve. “You can drop us off at the hospital, then take Angie and the girl to the police station.”

“No, I have to go to the hospital with him.” Bucky insisted.

“You can come back after you and Angie drop off the girl, but for now it makes the most sense for me to go in with Steve because I was the one who saw what actually happened to him.”

Bucky scowled, but he knew Peggy was right, so he didn’t make an effort to argue with her. It made the most sense for Peggy to take Steve in, but the thought of not being there for Steve made him sick to his stomach. When he had accepted Peggy’s offer of a life of adventure at the cost of giving up his home, it hadn’t mattered to him because he still had Steve. It didn’t matter that they were leaving their home behind because, well, he wasn’t really leaving his home behind. He was bringing him along. But Peggy was right. Logically, it would be best for Steve if she went in.

XxxxX

Almost two hours later, Bucky and Angie were on their way to the hospital. Angie had taken over at the wheel because Bucky’s driving had become erratic, to say the least. She pulled the car into the parking lot and she had barely parked the car before he lept out, sprinting across the parking lot and into the lobby.

XxxxX

Bucky walked down the hall towards Steve’s room. 

“Yeah, hang on a second, he’s coming.” Peggy stepped out of Steve’s room, on the phone with someone presumably Angie. Her eyes were red like she had been crying. Bucky felt his heart rate double. Peggy hung up the phone and put her hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Before you go in there-”

“Is he okay?”

“He,” Peggy searched for another way to say it, realizing that there wasn’t one. “No, he hasn’t come to yet, and the doctors are saying that he sustained serious damage to his heart, which in addition to his preexisting conditions…” She trailed off. “They’re giving him a week.”

Bucky shook his head. “No they, they must be wrong. Steve’s always been able to recover. He can’t - he won’t just -” He pushed past Peggy and into the room. He stopped short upon seeing Steve in the hospital bed. Steve had been to the hospital a few times before, but this was different. Sure Steve always looked infinitely smaller in the hospital bed. Sure the tubes and monitors always made Bucky’s stomach roll. But Steve would always _always_ , even if all he could manage was a weak rasp, smile and say “Hey Buck”. Entering the room and hearing silence forced tears into Bucky’s eyes. 

He was dimly aware of Peggy resting her hand on his shoulder and gently telling him not to do anything stupid before she walked out of the room closing the door behind her. He sat down in the chair that she had pulled up to Steve’s bedside. His hands trembled slightly as he grasped Steve’s hand.

It felt as though for the last few months they had taken off on this adventure, leaving the city and all of their problems behind, and racing off into the horizon without a second thought. Bucky should have thought ahead, should have been more cautious. He should have known something like this would happen, but he wasn’t thinking. Now he would pay. Now he would suffer. Now his entire world was crashing down, everything violently ripped to shreds right before his eyes.

He would have given anything to save Steve. Traded anything for Steve’s life. But what did he have? Seventy-something dollars and a couple of fake credit cards? He had nothing- except… The idea hit Bucky like a freight train. He did have something, one thing, infinitely valuable that he could trade for anything, anything at all. The very idea sent a cold rush of fear and dread through his body, but it also gave him a warm flood of hope. Steve was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> As always thank you SO much for reading, I hope you enjoyed and you can come hang out with me on my [tumblr](http://cozy-bucky.tumblr.com)


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